Making Impact Anywhere, Any Time through the Social Impact Challenge

I feel a sense of pride and privilege working for a company where impacting people’s lives is part of our daily mission. Depending on one’s role in the company, that influence can be direct or indirect.

Each individual’s lived experiences can inform what it means to change the trajectory of health and eliminate health inequities. The Johnson & Johnson employee engagement strategy ‘Talent for Good’ offers such opportunities to transform health and strengthen health systems—yet employees might be reluctant to take part due to travel requirements, job seniority, or tenure at the company. As we enter the third year of the global pandemic, I have seen a growing desire to give back, but such barriers can prevent employees from taking action. A new program, Johnson & Johnson’s Social Impact Challenge, is meeting the increased demand by employees for dynamic opportunities to bring our Credo to life to make an impact anywhere at any time. 

The Social Impact Challenge is a half-day event that connects #JNJ employees with community partners around the globe. J&J expert volunteers diagnose critical challenges, brainstorm solutions and design implementation plans to catalyze impact in the social sector. This program provides the opportunity for teams to build new skills and cultivate socially responsible global leaders.

The Social Impact Challenge proved so popular with employees, that together with my colleague Jennifer Schacht  we created a process and toolkit to empower our employees to independently run their own challenges. One group collaborated with UNICEF  to better connect patients in Mozambique with healthcare. I personally was able to participate in this event where we brainstormed solutions for delivering health care to remote, underserved communities in Africa and being at the forefront of diagnosing and addressing critical global health care challenges. 

“This was an eye-opening experience; barriers in the referral process and access to affordable transportation play a critical role in meeting basic healthcare needs and effective treatment. It’s a complex issue, but our team had a lot of energy and great ideas. I’m proud to work for J&J, a company that is dedicated to improving healthcare around the world.”

– John Thaler, Senior Director, J&J Supply Chain (supported UNICEF team)

In 2021, 145 employees donated approximately 870 hours of their time and expertise through Social Impact Challenges supporting five community partners across the globe. Another group worked with Rise Against Hunger—a J&J Global Community Impact partner since 2013—focusing on the organization’s water, sanitation and hygiene programs through meal packing and disaster relief. Over 2.2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, half of the world's population doesn’t have adequate sanitation and 3 billion people lack hand washing facilities with soap. The J&J team presented creative solutions to change kids’ behavior to foster healthy habits through globally adaptable messages. Rise Against Hunger Senior Manager Liza Munson applauded the “focus and enthusiasm” of the J&J participants working to improve children’s health worldwide.

“The recommendations that came out from the J&J team were spot on, tackling different problems areas (even teams tackling the same pain point came out with different solutions). The recommendations also had depth and data points to back them up.” – LifeBank, Nigeria

The Social Impact Challenge toolkit features how-to guides and best practices, pre-recorded training webinars and customizable templates and workplans. Each asset provides step-by-step guidance to support a Challenge Manager in planning and hosting a Social Impact Challenge. Materials included in this toolkit can be customized to meet specific objectives. While the basic challenge structure is the same for everyone who participates, organizers are encouraged to build upon materials and shape elements to their unique needs.

“The J&J team was able to craft solutions for the challenges and also offer the timelines, cost-saving measures and impacts of the solutions.” – Tiny Hearts Technology, Nigeria

This program is a great option for teams seeking to do a Credo event or a team-building activity, and for organizations looking for an infusion of creative thinking to help them overcome obstacles or elevate their work. The Social Impact Challenge can be done any time of year, virtually or in-person and doesn’t require an application process. In a time of health uncertainty, inflation and political instability, community partners have never been more in need of professional expertise to help diagnose real problems that they face. And being part of the solution is truly something I can be proud of.

About Talent for Good

Talent for Good aims to activate nearly 140,000 global J&J employees to grow personally and professionally by applying their time and expertise to build healthier communities around the world. From donations to fully immersive assignments with partner organizations, Talent for Good offers over 20 customizable programs for employees at all stages of their careers to create meaningful change and a healthier, more equitable world.